Kerry, Pope's Chief Diplomat Discuss Mideast Peace

Meeting Follows Workshop Hosted by Vatican to Talk About Syria

ROME—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Pope Francis' chief diplomat Tuesday to discuss conflicts in the Middle East as a Vatican-convened workshop called for a cease-fire in Syria.

Mr. Kerry and Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's secretary of state and a longtime Vatican diplomat who has dealt with some of the church's most delicate international issues, met in a closed-door meeting that lasted more than 90...